Does Social Media Cause Depression Among Teenagers?

Multiple scientific studies have shown that digital (screen-based) media has negative impacts on teenagers’ physical health, mental health and well-being.

Digital media may cause obesity, due to sleep deprivation and/or lack of exercise

1- Sleep deprivation because of:

• Delayed bedtime (and consequently reduced total sleep duration)
• Psychological stimulation (caused by media content)
• Effects of light emitted from the devices (delayed melatonin secretion and the onset of sleep)

2- Changes in performance at school (as a consequence of sleep deprivation and/or depression)

3- Depression caused by:

• Sleep deprivation
• Social media

A recent study, conducted by UCL* (on 11 000 teenagers aged 14 years) and published on January 4, 2019 in EClinical Medicine, confirms that social media can cause teenagers’ depression, in particular among girls who appear to be more vulnerable than boys. Depressive symptoms developed even in case of light social media user; however, the severity increased with the duration of use.

Light social media user: less than 5 hours

Heavy social media user: more than 5 hours

The mechanisms behind the negative impact of social media on teenagers’ mental health:

1- Cyberbullying

2- Comparisons with others

*University College of London

LAMSA’s note:

However, if not overused by teenagers, social media has its positive side, like looking for entertainment, humor, content creation, health information…